Microsoft has officially pared back the graphics specifications for its forthcoming Xbox console. Instead of pumping 150 million raw polygons per second, the system is now officially purported to push "only" 125 million. Furthermore, the graphics processing unit (GPU) will operate at 250MHz, as opposed to the 300MHz previously expected.

Exactly what these revisions mean is difficult for the layman to ascertain. Benchline tests in graphics equipment means little, since games use far more demanding graphics than those used in the tests. The Xbox is slated for a simultaneous Fall 2001 release in Japan and North America, and a 2002 launch in Europe.